What is Dysphoneidetic Dyslexia?

By Stephanie Torreno

Did you know that there are different types of dyslexia? Dyseidetic dyslexia describes difficulty recognizing whole words, while dysphonetic dyslexia describes difficulty connecting sounds to symbols. Read more about dysphoneidetic dyslexia, a combination of these two types, in this article.

The Types of Dyslexia

Dyslexia is a neurological condition that causes difficulties in learning. The condition most often affects reading, writing, and spelling, causing difficulties with word recognition and decoding abilities. These difficulties can lead to reading comprehension problems, which can delay vocabulary skills and general knowledge that comes from positive reading experiences. Dyslexia can additionally affect mathematical abilities.

Three main types of dyslexia are dyseidetic dyslexia, dysphonetic dyslexia, and dysphoneidetic dyslexia. Dyseidetic dyslexia is associated with the functioning in the brain in the angular gyrus of the left parietal lobe. A student with dyseidetic dyslexia has poor sight-word recognition abilities and has problems remembering whole irregular, or eidetic, words. Since dyseidetic dyslexics phonetically sound out, or decode, and phonetically spell, or encode, these students often read better than they spell. Dysphonetic Dyslexia is associated with the functioning of Wernicke’s Areaof the left temporal lobe. A student with this type of dyslexia is unable to sound out phonetically regular, or phonetic, words. Students with dysphonetic dyslexia learn words through memorization, and unknown words are often substituted or skipped while reading.

Dysphoneidetic Dyslexia is a combination of deficits in functioning in the angular gyrus and Wernicke’s Area. A student with this type of dyslexia often has weak visual-motor skills. Dysphoneidetic dyslexia is the severest form of the condition and often the most difficult to treat.

Diagnosis of Dysphoneidetic Dyslexia

Before any one of the types of dyslexia can be treated, they must be diagnosed. Formal assessment is necessary before a student can qualify for special services from his school. Testing for dyslexia is usually done by an educational psychologist. Parents of children experiencing learning difficulties who attend public school in the U.S. are legally entitled to request evaluation through the school district. The condition can be assessed through a profile that shows whether a student has a typical pattern of strengths and weaknesses, while other assessments rule out other possible causes of difficulties, such as vision or hearing problems.

After diagnosis, a student with dysphoneidetic dyslexia usually requires individualized therapy, which may include cognitive processing therapy, phonological processing therapy, and direct multi-sensory instruction. This therapy usually involves weekly sessions. The therapist meets with the student's parents and explains what was taught and what was practiced during the session. Home therapy is often assigned for the student to practice skills outside of clinical therapy.

Accommodations to Help

Students with one of the types of dyslexia will need academic accommodations to ease difficulties experienced in the classroom. Some accommodations can include:

Audiotapes/CDs of textbooks so student can follow the text while listening.

Peer reading groups.

Use of highlighter or highlighting tape to indicate important information.